Shelf retainer



A. Y. DOWELL SHELF RETAINER July 18, 1933.

Filed Aug. 10, 1932 INVENTOR.

Patented July I a 1933 UNITEMTMES PATE T- OF-FIc-ET jniv'rs YA'I'B nowntn, or msrmes-uron-nunson, new roan, mama re snavm,

me. or raw Yonx, n. Y, agcoarom'nonor nmwm' i .santr mm application filed August 10, 1m.- and in. exam.

My invention ,relates to 'shelf jretainers adapted to be used in conjunction with supports for'shelves or trays in refrigerators or other cabinets and it is an object of the 5 invention to provide shelf retaining means that will prevent rattling of the shelves and noise as a consequence thereof when the shelf or cabinet is vibration. g It is a further object to provide shelf'retaim'ng means that will'hold the shelves firmly and securely in place during shipment and thereby eliminate the necessity of packing. the shelves in separate cartons.

A further object of the invention is to provide shelf retaining means which will permit the ready application or removal of the shelves and which is simple and inex pensive to manufacture and easy to apply.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawin ,wherein:

ig. 1 is a horizontal sectionrthrough a held in position, and illustrating one application .of the present invention;

Fig. 2, a section on the line 2 2 of Fig.

Referring to the drawing, a refrigerator.

cabinet 10 is provided with a porcelained liner 11 and a plurality of shelf supports 12 are attachedvto or carried by the liner for supporting a shelf 13. The shelf supports 12 are of conventional construction formed of wire or the like upset at one end to pro vide an enlarged integral head, a threaded shank adjacent the head, and a smooth shelf The support 12 projec'ts through an aperture in the liner 11 and is fastened in position by means of a nut 14 engaging the threaded portion of the shank and bearing subjected to jarring or cabinet, showing a top plan view of a shelf engaging extremity of smaller diameter.

against a convex spring washer 15, av gas-- 'ket 16' being "preferably provided so that the liner will not washer.

be marred'by the spring In order to compensate for. inequalities in the liner 11 cause by the high temperature to whichthe liner is subjected during the enamel baking process, the supports 12 are of suflicient-length to permit the shelf 13 to have alateral-play or movement and to restrain this movement to prevent rattling of the shelf or dislodgment of the shelf, spring clips are provided. The spring clips or tensioning' members are each formed of a metal strip, having a flat back or rean portion 17, folded over and inclined forwardly upon itself at 18 and curved laterally towards its body to provide a' latch or shelf engaging portion terminating in a flat slotted portion 19 having its end 20 bent slightly as shown. The free end of the back 17 is" rovided with a bifurcation 21 to permit t e-cli to be inserted between-the washer 15 an gasket 16 laterally over the threaded shank of the support 12 with the smooth ortion of the support extendin through t e aperture in the free end of t e clip. -'I he loop of the clip may be. disposed above or below the support, as shown respectively in Figs. 3 and 5. When the support and retainer are in the position shown injFig. 3, the shelf is placed .3 in position so that it contacts the inclined portion 18 of the clip and is pressed downwardly to bring the shelf to the osition shown in Fig. 3, the free leg of t 0 clip permitting the shelf to ride into the recess as shown.

As shown in Fig. .4, a small shelf is held in position by the use of only three supports an cooperating retainers and in order to prevent weight applied to the free corner of theshelf from upsetting the shelf, the retainer at the diagonally o posite corner is inverted so that it is in e position shown in Fi 5. t

Tt will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various other changes maybe made in the construction and arrangement without departing from the spirit of the inven-, tion, and therefore the invention is not limit edto that which is described in the specification and shown in the drawing, but only as indicated in the appended claims.

, What is claimed is:

1. In a cabinet having means for supporting a shelf and a. shelf supported by said means, shelf retaining means comprising a loop of spring metal provided withan opening at one end to receive the outer portion of the support and having a depression disposed in opposition to a laterally extending portion of the support for clamping a side 'bar of the shelf therebetween, said retainer being provided with an opening to recelve a part of the support andbeing held in place by the fastening means for said support.

2. With a shelf support having a shank and a laterallyextending hook end, a bent spring clip having an opening at one end to receive the shank and be clamped andheld in place by mounting means for said support, said spring clip having an opening through the other end so constructed and arranged as to be passed over the hook portion of the support before mounting the parts and to be freely movable upon the support and yet held against outward displacement beyond the hook end, the clip eing provided with a depression to receive a side bar of a shelf to be held against casua1 displacement from the support.

3. In a cabinet having means for supporting a shelf and a shelf supported thereby, said shelf support having a mounting shank and a laterally extending end portion, a bent spring clip having an opening through one end to be fitted loosely over the laterally extending end of the support and the other end bifurcated to be fitted over the shank of the support adjacent to the wall ofthe cabinet, and means associated with the support to engage the bifurcated end of the spring clip to securely hold the clip in place.

4. In a cabinet having means for supporting a shelf and a shelf supported thereby, said shelf support having a mounting shank and a laterally extending end portion, a bent spring clip having an opening through one end to be fitted loosely over the laterally extendingend of the support and the other end bifurcated to be fitted over the shank of the support adjacent to the wall of the cabi- 

